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Japanese in a Nutshell Chapter 1 Japanese in a Nutshell In This Chapter ▶ Dipping your toes into Japanese writing and grammar ▶ Working with simple expressions and basic numbers ▶ Exploring Japanese at home, at work, at play, and abroad elcome to Japanese! Now that you’ve decided to learn this intriguing Wlanguage, I’m sure you’re eager to find out as much as you can as quickly as you can. After all, you probably have co-workers, friends, neighbors, and others to impress with your newfound language skills. Well, here’s your chance to dive into Japanese. This chapter offers you a mini-preview of what you can find throughout Japanese For Dummies, 2nd Edition. Discovering Basic Japanese Sounds and Script Japanese sounds are pretty easy to pronounce. For one thing, Japanese has only five basic vowels: a (ah), i (ee), u (oo), e (eh), and o (oh). In addition, you don’t see a long string of consonants before or after a vowel, unlike in Russian or Polish. You just have to pay attention to a handful of strange con- sonants, such the Japanese r, which makes a sound somewhere between the English lCOPYRIGHTED and r. You can pronounce basic MATERIAL sounds in Japanese along with the audio recordings in Chapter 2. Japanese writing, on the other hand, can be confusing because Japanese scripts don’t look at all like Western alphabets. The Japanese scripts consist of two sets of kana (kah-nah) — phonetic symbols for Japanese syllables — and about 2,000 kanji (kahn-jee) characters, which are Chinese characters adapted for Japanese. If you just want to learn how to speak Japanese, you may want to skip focusing on these Japanese scripts and use rōmaji (rohh- mah-jee), the Romanized spellings of Japanese words. However, getting used 005_9781118130711-ch01.indd5_9781118130711-ch01.indd 9 99/19/12/19/12 11:06:06 PMPM 10 Part I: Getting Started to the Japanese scripts is a good idea, especially if you plan to use your Japanese skills to travel. If you can recognize some of the Japanese scripts, you can get around in a Japanese town more easily because all street signs are written in only the Japanese scripts. Another advantage of being able to recognize the Japanese scripts, especially kana, is that you can avoid reading Japanese like English. For example, the Japanese word that means bamboo is take. As an English speaker, you may have an urge to read take as teh-ee-koo because you know the English word to take, but the Japanese pronunciation of this word is tah-keh. In this case, the rōmaji may mislead you, but the kana, たけ, wouldn’t because your exist- ing knowledge in English can’t interfere. Chapter 2 shows all kana characters and some representative kanji characters for your reference. Getting a Grip on Basic Grammar Japanese grammar is quite different from English grammar, particularly when it comes to word order in sentences. Even if grammar was your most hated subject, you can’t avoid learning grammar if you want to speak Japanese like a native. Without grammar, you’ll sound like a big 2-year-old, saying things like the Japanese counterparts of Brian car, me kiss Mary, or John in office. You generally put the verb at the end of the sentence and add the particle o (oh) after the direct object noun. So to mean to eat sushi, say sushi o taberu (soo-shee oh tah-beh-roo), where taberu means to eat. For further insight into Japanese grammar, head to Chapter 3, which tells you all about parts of speech; conjugation patterns; and the structure of words, phrases, and sentences. Easing into Common Expressions What are the most common communicative situations? Introducing yourself, greeting, parting, thanking, apologizing . I can keep listing them, but I’d rather introduce you to some common expressions (you can find more of them in Chapter 4): ✓ はじめまして。 Hajimemashite. (hah-jee-meh-mah-shee-teh.) (How do you do?) ✓ 宜しくお願いします。 Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. (yoh-roh-shee-koo oh- neh-gah-ee shee-mah-soo.) (Pleased to meet you.) 005_9781118130711-ch01.indd5_9781118130711-ch01.indd 1010 99/19/12/19/12 11:06:06 PMPM Chapter 1: Japanese in a Nutshell 11 ✓ おはようございます。 Ohayō gozaimasu. (oh-hah-yohh goh-zah-ee-mah- soo.) (Good morning.) ✓ じゃあ，また。 Jā, mata. (jahh, mah-tah.) (I’ll see you again.) ✓ ありがとうございます。 Arigatō gozaimasu. (ah-ree-gah-tohh goh-zah- ee-mah-soo.) (Thank you.) ✓ すみません。 Sumimasen. (soo-mee-mah-sehn.) (I’m sorry.) Counting on Numbers Numbers dominate everyday life. What time do you wake up? How many glasses of water do you drink a day? How many guests are you expecting? How much does buying groceries cost? Chapter 5 lets you count both small and large numbers and use them with the right counters. Counters, you ask? The Japanese use a short, suffix-like element called a counter right after the number. The counter you use varies depending on the type of things you’re counting or the kind of notions you’re specifying. To start with, count the bare simple numbers from one to ten: ✓ 一 ichi (ee-chee) (one) ✓ 二 ni (nee) (two) ✓ 三 san (sahn) (three) ✓ 四 yon (yohn) or shi (shee) (four) ✓ 五 go (goh) (five) ✓ 六 roku (roh-koo) (six) ✓ 七 nana (nah-nah) or shichi (shee-chee) (seven) ✓ 八 hachi (hah-chee) (eight) ✓ 九 kyū (kyooo) or ku (koo) (nine) ✓ 十 jū (jooo) (ten) Japanese also frequently uses the Arabic numerals (1, 2, and so on) that you’re used to seeing. You can read more about using numbers, including using them to tell time and specify dates, in Chapter 5. 005_9781118130711-ch01.indd5_9781118130711-ch01.indd 1111 99/19/12/19/12 11:06:06 PMPM 12 Part I: Getting Started Speaking Japanese around the House You spend at least a half of your time in your house every day — sleeping, cooking, eating, watching TV, and so on. Here are some terms to help you name the rooms in your house in Japanese: ✓ ダイニング dainingu (dah-ee-neen-goo) (dining room) ✓ 風呂場 furoba (foo-roh-bah) (bathing room) ✓ キッチン kitchin (keet-cheen) (kitchen) ✓ リビング ribingu (ree-been-goo) (living room) ✓ 寝室 shinshitsu (sheen-shee-tsoo) (bedroom) Chapter 6 introduces the Japanese words you need for naming things in your house and expressing what you do in your house. Using Japanese in Social Scenarios I can’t stress enough that a language is just the tool for communication. Communication should be your ultimate goal for studying any language. You communicate with people not only for socialization and entertainment but also for completing daily tasks successfully with your family, friends, and col- leagues. That is, developing good language skills is the key to your success in your life! The following sections introduce you to some of the vocabulary you need in various social situations. Making small talk If you want to say something more than just “hello” when you see someone, make a point of knowing Japanese phrases that can help you initiate small talk. Start with questions like the following: ✓ どちらまでですか。 Dochira made desu ka. (doh-chee-rah mah-deh deh- soo kah.) (Where are you heading to?) ✓ いい天気ですね。Ii tenki desu ne. (eee tehn-kee deh-soo neh.) (It’s nice today, isn’t it?) ✓ ご兄弟は。 Go-kyōdai wa. (goh-kyohh-dah-ee wah.) (Do you have any siblings?) ✓ メールアドレスは。 Mēru adoresu wa. (mehh-roo ah-doh-reh-soo wah.) (What’s your e-mail address?) Chapter 7 shows you how to conduct small talk in Japanese. 005_9781118130711-ch01.indd5_9781118130711-ch01.indd 1212 99/19/12/19/12 11:06:06 PMPM Chapter 1: Japanese in a Nutshell 13 Asking for directions When you need to ask for directions to somewhere, name the place you want to go, add the particle wa (wah) after it, and say doko desu ka (doh-koh deh-soo kah), as in Eki wa doko desu ka. (eh-kee wah doh-koh deh-soo kah.) (Where is the train station?) Chapter 8 shows you how to ask or give directions in Japanese. Eating out and buying food If you love eating Japanese foods, you need to know how to place an order at a restaurant in Japanese. Your server will ask you, Go-chūmon wa. (goh-chooo-mohn wah.) (Your order?). That’s your opportunity to say, for example, Sushi o onegai shimasu. (soo-shee oh oh-neh-gah-ee shee-mah- soo.) (Sushi, please.) Find out more about how to eat out at restaurants and buy food in Chapter 9. Going shopping Who doesn’t love shopping? If you’re looking for something in particular, name it, add wa (wah) after it, and say arimasu ka (ah-ree-mah-soo kah), as in Sukāfu wa arimasu ka. (soo-kahh-foo wah ah-ree-mah-soo kah.) (Do you have a scarf?). Definitely check the price, though. You can do so by asking Ikura desu ka. (ee-koo-rah deh-soo kah.) (How much?). Turn to Chapter 10 for more words and phrases that can help you have suc- cessful shopping experiences in Japanese. Exploring entertainment opportunities Hanging out at home is fun, but if you do that 7 days a week, 365 days a year, it’s going to get boring. So why not head out and explore the entertainment opportunities your community has to offer? I bet you’ll find some of the following: ✓ 美術館 bijutsukan (bee-joo-tsoo-kahn) (art museums) ✓ 劇場 gekijō (geh-kee-johh) (theaters for performing arts) 005_9781118130711-ch01.indd5_9781118130711-ch01.indd 1313 99/19/12/19/12 11:06:06 PMPM 14 Part I: Getting Started ✓ 博物館 hakubutsukan (hah-koo-boo-tsoo-kahn) (museums) ✓ カラオケ karaoke (kah-rah-oh-keh) (karaoke) ✓ クラブ kurabu (koo-rah-boo) (nightclub) Chapter 11 introduces more fun places and shows you what you can do there in Japanese.
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